what is this called?

[josybear]

hey there
for my whole pregnancy i've been barely eating and throwing up tons and i want to know what this particular thing is called so i can figure out what to do about it. i'm SICK of it! ok, here's what it is:
i feel like my stomach is constantly backing up into my throat. you know that feeling when you're swallowing a pill and it gets stuck and you can't get it down? i have that ALL THE TIME, plus i'm always swallowing down puke and i often get a burning feeling in my dietary track, between my throat and my stomach. it's worse at night and much worse if i lie down. i've been sleeping sitting up on the couch. is this heartburn? acid reflux? something else? i need a name so i can find out what to do with it, i'm miserable. it's especially bad this week, i've eaten next to nothing and still puked a few times a day.
any help would be great.
i'll be gone all day but i'll check in tonight.
thanks!

[Earthy Birthy]

Sounds like acid relflux, but have did you experience this with your last prengnancy? Sometimes you can also have something like a hiatal hernia that is caused by all of your organs being pushed up into your chest by your uterus. Here are some good pics of your organs before pregnancy and how everything is relocated at full-term.

As far as treatment goes, I would suggest eating several small meals throughout the day, as it sounds like maybe you are producing so much stomach acid that it has nowhere to go but up and out. Sometimes yogurt can feel soothing going down, or one time when I was pg I did a spoonful of ice cream anytime I got heartburn and that helped (didn't work other times, but it's worth trying). Sleeping sitting up is good, although you may feel more rested if you try more of an incline built up with pillows than sitting all the way up (or sleeping in a recliner). A lot of women love papaya enzymes for heartburn, but I had a mw tell me once that women in other parts of the world use some form of this for birth control and to cause spontaneous abortions. I think that you'd have to ingest a huge amount, but that has still kept me from using it. I use Tums for heartburn, just for lack of a better remedy. I am getting to the point (as I have every time I'm pg) where it is becoming quite a problem. By the end, I'm waking up choking on my own vomit. Fun stuff. Anyway, I feel your pain, josybear, and I hope that maybe you'll find something that helps.

BTW--if anyone else has a magic cure-all for heartburn, please share!

[luckydog]

Yep - reflux, heartburn that is what it's called.

There are a LOT of threads that have been recently posted with remedies and suggestions - everything from foods to eliminate, food to eat (chew almonds) to natural neutralizing remedies like apple cider vinegar dosing to allopathic treatments like Zantac. Search for heartburn on these boards to suss them all out. Then start by trying out the natural remedies - those work for a lot of people!

Good luck! Your sister in misery...

And fancy that, the whole reason I'm sitting here right now is because the heartburn I woke up with made lying down any longer way too uncomfortable. Bleh!

[edenluna]

yep, i have it too.... it really sucks! i am using something alot like pepto bismol for it, although it isn't pink.... when i feel it coming, i take some and it helps but is no miracle cure!

[PiePie]

it's called reflux, my midwife recommends chewable papaya enzymes half an hour before eating. it is less likely to happen to me when i eat small amounts. if i lie down after eating, i elevate my head and lie on my left side, so it would have to fight gravity to come up.

[Emma's_Mommy]

sounds like reflux to me, try taking zantac and drinking milk when it acts up....and don't lay down for at least an hour after eating.

[mama2walden&luna]

The best remedy I have found for heartburn is apple cider vinegar. You have to use the raw, unfiltered vinegar with "the mother" in it (little stringy looking things). I use Braggs, but there are a couple of other brands at the health food store. A little goes a long way! In a coffee cup of hot water, use 1 teaspoon or 1 tablespoon (to your taste) of vinegar with a little honey or agave nectar to sweeten it. Drink 3-4 cups a day and it will neutralize the acids in your digestive tract. It's worked for me and dh both, and he used to suffer from cronic heartburn before he started taking it.
Good luck!!

[Earthy Birthy]

Walden's mama, you must have tastebuds of steel to be able to down Bragg's. I tried once and gagged until I rinsed my mouth out really well (and that was while holding my nose!) . It *is* really good stuff if you can get past the taste, though. Some people use it as a cure-all for just about anything.

[josybear]

ok, so i got an antacid at the srugstore tonight. i'll try is as soon as this sleeping boy is off my lap. thanks for all the info and whatnot, ladies! now that i know what it is i can do something about it...
oh, and i never had anything like that when pregnant with ds. does this mean i'm having a girl?

[PiePie]

from what i read, it means you have higher estrogen levels and are more likely to have a baby with a head full of hair. :

[josybear]

wooo hoooo!!!!!!
if it hadn't been for ds crying half the night for no good reason i would have slept soooooo well. i wish i'd known that this wasn't just one of those inevitable parts of pregnancy a little sooner!

[mama2walden&luna]

Originally Posted by TXmidwife

Walden's mama, you must have tastebuds of steel to be able to down Bragg's. I tried once and gagged until I rinsed my mouth out really well (and that was while holding my nose!) . It *is* really good stuff if you can get past the taste, though. Some people use it as a cure-all for just about anything.

I actually like the taste, although it smells like stinky feet . But, I'm one of those people that drink the juice out of the olive and pickle jars . My grandfather used to pickle his own cayenne peppers that he grew in his garden and he would drink a teaspoon full of the juice every morning. He claimed that it was good for his blood, and I don't doubt it. Vinegar is really good for you, and so are cayenne peppers! If it hadn't been for his propensity for tequila, I think he would have lived a whole lot longer!

Joysbear, I'm really glad to hear you are feeling better!!

[Alohamelly]

I've got it too. Bad. Nothing is working for me. Papaya enzymes help a little, but Rolaids work the best and even then it doesn't get rid of it all the way.